The Argument Ramification
by BlazingLegend
Summary: It started with Sheldon asking about little marshmallows. It ended with shouting, the breaking of hearts, and Priya gone. Who knows how it went after that. Set during S4, while Leonard and Priya are dating.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all! This is my first TBBT fic, but I've written eleven times before this, so I have a bit of experience. I hope everyone's in character. Especially Sheldon. Dr. Wackadoodle, along with being awesome to write, is one of those characters where it's _crucial _they're IC. And it's pretty easy to tell when they're not.

* * *

Penny floated around her apartment, the sash of her hot pink dressing gown trailing from her waist and slithering about on the floor. She picked at clothes ranging from _dirty_, _dirty-ish_, and _still dirty, but hey, what isn't around here? _and tossed some of the lesser grimy ones onto her couch, if they weren't there already.

She ruffled her curls, mussed and sticking up in places from a bottle of wine and a night spent draped across her couch. She rubbed at her temples and momentarily ceased in her endeavours of dirty-washing-collecting, walking behind her kitchen counter and beginning to rifle through her cupboards for aspirin.

_Knock, knock, knock. _"Penny."

She turned a round, a slow, sloppy smile spreading across her face. She set her too-damn-small white bottle of pills on the bench and held up a finger. "One."

_Knock, knock, knock. _"Penny."

She advanced toward the door. "Two."

_Knock, knock, knock. _"Penny."

She shook her head, "Three," and opened the door. "G'morning, Sheldon."

He looked fidgety, like a skin-coloured praying-mantis on a sugar high. "Good morning, Penny."

She raised her eyebrows. "Need anything?"

His eyes darted to the ground, then to the inside of her apartment, then to the ceiling. "Um..."

She sighed. "Sheldon. What do you want?"

His lips tightened. "As I can only assume your foul mood is the result of excessive alcohol intake—"

She released an angry breath, starting to slam the door. "_Goodbye, _Sheldon."

"No, Penny, wait," he said, and she felt a foot in her door before it fully closed. There was a small whimper.

She opened it again, and he seemed quite unruffled. "Oh, sweetie, that must have—"

He held up a hand. "Please. Penny, I appreciate the sympathy, but do not require it."

She shut her mouth.

He went on, "I've come to ask a favour of you. This may not be the proper time—" her nostrils flared and his eyes widened at her, and she silently wished he'd say _excessive alcohol intake _one more time just so she could punch him, "—but I'll ask regardless. May I come in?"

She groaned. "What would it take for you _not _to?"

His lips pursed and he stared down at her with those thin eyebrows. "Penny."

She pulled a face. "Oh, come on. _Why?_"

His eyes darted to the floor again. "Um..."

"Sheldon," she whined. "If I'm gonna let you in, you have to tell me."

"Um..."

"Three."

"Um..."

"Two, Sheldon!"

"Oh, _alright._" He said, wrinkling his nose, squinting at her. "Leonard and Priya are fighting."

The thought bumped around in her somewhat disconnected mind for a few moments before hitting home. "Oh, right. Is all the yelling bothering you?"

He nodded, looking down.

If she concentrated hard, she thought she could hear it through the closed door to 4A. Leonard's high, threaded voice he always got when he shouted, and Priya's deeper, foreign accent battling it out.

She couldn't hear quite what they were saying, and she wasn't one to pry—which was balls, but she just knew she'd be totally busted by Sheldon and or Priya if she went leaning against the door with a glass pressed to her ear.

She sighed, pulling a face and jerking her head in the direction of her apartment. "Just come in."

He pushed past her, banging her against the doorway. She rubbed her shoulder, shutting the door and grumbling, "Gee, _thanks _Penny,"

He tilted his head slightly, looking at her in confusion. "Why are you thanking yourself?"

She threw her hands around. "_Because, _Sheldon—" she stopped, screwing up her face. "—you know what? Forget it. Just forget it."

He looked around, holding his hands close to his body. "Um..."

She pointed at the door. "If you're gonna complain about the mess, get out."

He sighed, wrinkled his nose. "Very well."

She sat down on her couch, watching him waft from sitting place to sitting place, murmuring and clucking his tongue at pretty much everything he saw. "So, Sheldon, what are Leonard and Priya fighting about?"

He looked back at her, shifting in his spot. "I'm not sure I'm at liberty to say."

She opened her mouth, closed it, and puckered her lips. "C'mon, Sheldon... you can tell me. I won't say a thing."

His eyebrows lifted. "Based on your previous history, that is highly doubtful."

She sighed, clenching her teeth. "Oh, _sweetie, _since I'm sure you didn't mean that as an insult, I'll let it go,"

He squinted at her. "What insult?"

"And that is exactly what I am talking about."

She got up, and he stared after her, asking, "What are you doing?"

She rounded her kitchen counter and flung open her cupboards. "I'm making coffee. You want some hot cocoa?"

"Do you have the little marshmallows?"

She scrunched up her face—she _knew _Sheldon liked the little marshmallows, and she had meant to get them, but she'd forgotten her shopping list when she'd gone out and had forgotten about them, too. "No. Sorry, I think I'm out."

He sighed, shooting her a tired glance. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Very well then."

She shook the can of instant hot chocolate at him, pursing her lips. "So you don't want any?"

"No, I'll have some."

When her back was turned and she was heaving spoons of mixture into a mug—and he was telling her _precisely _how much to put in and _precisely _the kind of milk she should have—she did roll her eyes. And tried not to leave out a spoonful.

"Oh..."

She spun around and saw Sheldon, eyes flared wide, lips pulled tight.

"Sheldon, what is it?"

It was then she heard the slam, the shout, the breaking of voices. He'd probably heard it before her—with that advanced Vulcan hearing of his.

"Well, _Leonard—_" it was Priya, voice spilling out with anger, decibels too high for anyone not ready to jump off the nearest cliff just to get away from the person they were fighting with. "—if you're not ready to fully commit to this relationship, then I'll just leave!"

"Priya, I've told you before, I _am _fully committed to this relationship! You're not listening!"

Penny wasn't sure she was hearing right. This was Leonard they were talking about—he'd _proposed _to her, for God's sake. Leonard was always ready to commit. With the bat of your eyelashes he'd be ready to scale a mountainside without his inhaler.

Priya's agonized voice sliced through before her thoughts could ramble much farther.

"Oh, yes I am, Leonard. I'm listening. I think I'm hearing more than you ever could," her voice had lowered, but was still loud enough to hear through Penny's door.

Sheldon glanced at Penny, face scrunched up. She had the sudden urge to unplug her blender.

"Sweetie, it's alright," she said, almost expecting him to break out in song just to drown out the warring voices in the hall. "I'm sure they'll stop soon."

"You can't be sure of that," he said. "How can you be sure of that?"

"Well..." she said. She sighed, rubbing at her forehead. "I'll go make them stop."

She couldn't have Dr. Wackadoodle hurting himself just because the not-so-lovebirds across the hall were going through some relationship angst. This was Leonard. He'd get Priya back—he was funny, and sweet, and insecure in that way that made Penny just want to jump on him or drown him in kisses.

"Oh, good," Sheldon said.

"Okay, so, I'm going to go talk to them. Alright?" She turned back to him, pointing a finger at him. "The blender is off limits."

He nodded, his head zipping up and down like a bouncy ball. "Understood. Go on now."

He gave her a push in the back. She glared at him. "I'm _going,_"

She waved him off and opened her door. With another nudge from Sheldon she emerged into the hallway, stumbling and patting down her curls lest she be given mental scorn from the 'fabulous' Priya.

"Oh, hi, Penny," Leonard said, his eyes darting down to the worn, treaded carpet.

Priya glared at her, teeth bared. "Yes, _hello _Penny."

"Um... yeah, hi." She said, biting down on her lower lip. "So..."

"So what?" Priya said.

"I... I just..." she said, and sighed. She shot a look at Leonard, who was still looking at the floor. "Would you mind keeping it down?"

"Keeping it down?" Priya repeated. "Oh, you—"

"I don't mean anything," she burbled. "But—it's just—you're freaking Sheldon out. He's in my apartment right now."

Leonard's eyes lifted to hers, his eyebrows raising. "Oh, crap. I'd forgotten about him. The shouting—oh, Penny, I'm sorry. I'll go get him."

"No no no," she said as he started for her apartment door, placing a hand on his arm. Priya sneered at her. "You're fine. I'll look after him. Just go back inside, alright?"

Leonard nodded, stiff and robotic, the kind of nod she'd expect from Sheldon. "Alright. Okay."

"No." Priya said, and it was only then, that even after that entire conversation, she realised Priya was clutching items close to her—jeans, a few blouses, and a handful of small knickknacks. "Not alright. I'm not going back in there."

"What?" Leonard's voice had dropped to a whisper, and Penny had the sudden wish that the scraping yellowed wallpaper would open up and swallow her entire frame, excusing her from ever hearing this conversation.

"What do you mean?" Leonard said. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Don't be stupid," Priya said. Penny had known Priya Koothrappali could be a little less than nice, but she'd never seen her snipe at Leonard. Maybe be sarcastic or condescending, but never _hurtful._ "You're supposed to be a genius, for God's sake."

She then gave him one last glance and turned for the stairs.

"Priya!" he called after her, dashing for the stairwell. "Priya, wait!"

Penny put out a hand to stop him. "No, Leonard, don't. Stay here. Let her think this through, alright?"

He looked back at her, his eyes shining and far away. "But..."

"No, Leonard. Leave her. She'll think it through and come back. Trust me—" she squeezed his shoulder, offering him a watery smile, "—the worst thing you can do is go after her."

He head dipped down, his dark curls ruffling out of place.

"Oh, sweetie," she murmured, pulling him in for a hug. "It'll be alright. You'll be alright."

"But she's left," he said, pressing his face into her shoulder. "She's _left._"

"Yes, Leonard, she has," she said. "She has left. But I think she'll come back, and if she doesn't, well, she's stupid." She stopped, smiled, and said, "And, just think about it, this way Raj is less likely to castrate you in your sleep."

He laughed, muffled and nervous and gorgeous, into her dressing gown.

"Why don't you go inside and make yourself some tea or something. I'll take Sheldon to the comic book store so you don't have to worry about him. You just worry about yourself for awhile, okay?"

He nodded, breaking off from her. "Okay. Okay. I'll do that." His eyes lifted to hers. "Thank you."

"It's alright, Leonard," she said, smiling at him. "You... um... you look after yourself."

He nodded. "I will."

She looked at him again, a final stare, and ducked out of the hallway, going back into her apartment.

Sheldon looked at her, eyes ready to drill holes.

"Come on, Sheldon. We're going to the comic book store."

"It's not comic book night. And I go to the comic book store with Leonard."

"Well you're going with me today. Give me five minutes to get dressed." She gave him a hard stare—her eyes could damn well drill holes too—and went for her bedroom door, sighing and hoping his personality was hungover for the day and he wouldn't give her any crap.

"Penny?" he asked, and she turned around.

"Yes?" she said, sighing again.

"Have Priya and Leonard terminated their relationship?"

She shook her head. "Mmm, sensitive as ever, Sheldon."

"Neither Priya nor Leonard are within earshot, there is no reason for sensitivity."

She wanted to say _there's always a reason for sensitivity, _but really, she didn't abide by that rule herself. She licked her lips and could feel her nose crinkling. "Sheldon, sweetie, I don't really want to talk about Leonard and Priya."

"Is it because you and Leonard used to participate in the sexual acts that now Priya has replaced you in?"

"Sheldon, I _don't _want to talk about—" she stopped, her hand slipping off the doorknob to her bedroom. She sighed again. "—you know what? Yes. Yes, Sheldon."

"Ah. I thought so."

"Do you want me to take you to the comic book store or not?" she demanded.

"Yes."

"Then _shut _your _hole._" She said, and then went into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

She should have been getting dressed, but instead she sat on her bed. She tugged at one of her curls, biting her lip.

She could imagine Leonard now, stumbling around his kitchen, wondering what to do. Maybe he'd make tea. Maybe he'd ring Priya.

She almost hoped he didn't. She almost hoped Priya and Leonard never got back together, never even _spoke _again.

She rolled over and frowned at her teal nail polish. She wasn't frowning at the revelation of just how bad a person she was—she'd figured that out a long time ago. She was frowning at the fact there wasn't even the slightest part of her that felt guilty for thinking this kind of thing. She knew she wanted Leonard back. Her forced separation from him had only amplified that—made her see that far faster than she ever could have on her own.

She had Priya to thank for that, at least.

* * *

It's a bit long, but length is always a good thing in my book. I do warn you—I may, from time to time, get seasons mixed up and write about things that haven't happened yet. I search the Big Bang wikia for most of those things, but I'm not perfect. Seasons five and six are coming by post, though, (we have the rest of them, excluding one,) so I'm going to work extra hard on catching myself up on _every little thing._

And I hope I did alright with the title. I wanted to use the science-title-thingie on my very first try, but couldn't come up with any better than this.

Please review, I want to know if I'm doing alright. Have a good one!


	2. Chapter 2

I do love my little Amy.

* * *

Penny flicked through the thick, glossy pages of her magazine, but her mind was far away from the dilemmas of young models.

She sighed and turned another page.

Amy's head snapped up at the insignificant sound, her eyes probing, her eyebrows raised. "What is it, Penny? Is the fame of gorgeous TV stars reminding you of your own, steeply declining acting career?"

Bernadette frowned and slapped Amy's shoulder. "Hey, don't say things like that. Penny's doing fine. The Cheescake Factory is..." her face crinkled, an obvious tell that the sweet honey-blonde's thoughts were contradicting her words. "... fine?"

"Bernadette, lying is not going to aide Penny. It is only if we be honest that we can help her." Amy fired back.

"_White_ lies, Amy. White lies."

"I know very well the workings of white lies. I stand by my previous point."

"Amy—"

Penny slapped down her magazine, interrupting her before she could get anywhere with her spiel. "No, guys. Seriously, it's fine. I'm fine."

Amy's lips pursed. "One does not sigh whilst untroubled."

Penny shrugged and threw her hands in the air. "What can I say? I'm a sigher."

"That is not a proper medical term."

"No, it isn't," Penny said, sighing. "But you just—"

"See!" Amy said, flinging a rainbow-sweater-clad arm at Penny, who in turn looked at her in shock. "There it is again!"

Penny groaned and tugged at her hair. "Fine. I'll stop sighing. Happy?"

Amy frowned. "No, not particularly. In my field of work, it has been dictated that sighing is connected to—"

"Oh, hush Amy," Bernadette said, slapping her again. "Can't you see she's upset? She doesn't need a Sheldon-y lecture about all the things that are _broken _about her," her look of disapproval subsided into one of mortification, and she shot a quick, apologetic glance Penny's way. "Not that I'm saying you're broken, Penny."

Penny just shrugged. "Eh. I know I'm screwed. Ice cream, anyone?" she said, and got up, heading to the fridge and getting out a heaving tub of strawberry ice cream.

Amy let out a pondering murmur. "Hmm. Apparently her obsession with pink is not limited to clothing items."

Penny said, sucking on a spoonful of ice cream, "You want some or not?"

Bernadette stood up off the floor and brushed off her floral print skirt. "I'll have some."

Amy looked between the two, and sighed, getting up herself. "I'll bend to social pressure. Sure." She paused, glancing over the large tub from which Penny was scooping directly and stuffing into her already compacted mouth, "You do realise that odd pinkish hue is not, in fact, from strawberries, but from a combination of chemicals—"

Penny's eyes flared and she banged the hilt of the spoon into the bench. She yelled, somewhat melted globs of frozen dairy product spilling from her lips, "Shut up, Amy!"

Bernadette sighed. "Yes. Shut up, Amy."

"I was simply stating fact!" Amy pointed out. "And excessive sighing is paramount to—"

Penny swallowed and wiped at her mouth with the cuff of her shirt. "Amy, let it _go. _I sighed. It's no big deal."

Amy's shoulders slumped, her eyes cast down. "Well—alright. Fine."

Penny groaned with the sudden urge to stuff her head in the tub of ice cream. "Ames, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm just... not feeling too hot."

Amy's eyes rose again, and she nodded, swallowing. "It's alright. Foul temper during the menstrual cycle is all too common—"

"Oh _God!_" Penny threw the spoon at her, not waiting long enough to see if she missed, and stormed out of her apartment.

XXX

Leonard stared at his phone.

He was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, his face doubled in pain. Sheldon called from his desk, "Might I suggest you stop moaning about it and actually call the woman?"

He shot him a glare, but his back was turned. "No. No, Sheldon, you may not."

"The might I—"

"_No, _Sheldon." He said, and sighed, rubbing at his face. Screw emotional problems—his roommate was going to drive him off a cliff far faster than any woman would. "You know what? I'm going out."

He stalked over to the door a snatched up his coat while Sheldon let out something akin to a cry of victory. He spun in his computer chair, fixing Leonard with a direct stare. "Finally. I was waiting for you to get to that."

"God, just for once, shut up," Leonard murmured as he slammed the door behind him. He leant against it for a few moments, until he was interrupted by a high shout.

"Oh _God!_" It was accompanied by a steaming blonde exiting 4B, her face screwed up in anguish.

She stopped partway through her march to the stairwell, her face washing blank as her cerulean blue orbs set upon Leonard, any emotion—pissed off or otherwise—just floating away.

"Oh. Hi—" she cleared her throat, rubbing at the back of her neck, tousling her curls. "—hi, Leonard."

He looked down at the floor, remembering the tortured voices that had emanated from here just three days ago, and tried and think of just where Priya had been standing when she'd looked into him with those deep, dark eyes of hers and told him she wasn't going back into the apartment. That she wasn't alright, _they _weren't alright. Where she'd been standing right before she left him.

"Leonard?" Penny was blinking at him, her face creased into a concerned frown. "Leonard, are you alright?"

He looked once again to the carpet and closed his eyes. "No."

She bit down on her lip. "God, I'm sorry. Of course you're not. I'm sorry." She said again, then murmured, "God, what an idiot..."

He looked up—her ocean eyes were flashing with something he didn't recognise. "It's alright, Penny. I just..." he stopped, sighing. "I just don't know what I am."

"Sweetie," she said, her voice soft and warm, like honey or fire sparking against a cold night. She reached out, slowly, and placed a hand on his arm. She shuffled a little closer to him, her painted fingers closing around his bicep. "Leonard,"

Then it was like her mouth just stopped moving. Her face wiped clean for a few seconds, then rebooted.

She flashed him a weak smile.

"Just hang in there, alright?" Her voice was a little high, maybe slightly nervous, but that could have just been his brain. "You'll be alright. I mean, you're Leonard," now there was no stopping her, and she just went on, "You're Leonard! Of course you'll be okay!"

He said nothing, and felt her grasp tighten around his arm. It might have been intended to be supportive—or it may have just been a muscle spasm. He couldn't tell.

She quickly stepped away from him, her eyes swooping left and right, like she was paranoid or watching for a bus. "Well, then... bye, Leonard." She brought her hand up in a wave, then seemed to think better of it, and it dropped back to her side. "Bye."

"Bye, Penny." He said with a frown.

Her eyes darted to the ground. "You'll be fine," she whispered, before flashing him a bright smile—like each one of her teeth was an individual lantern—and striding away, the door fitting tightly, and quickly, behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

I have no idea why it took me this long to update. Ah, well. As always, enjoy.

* * *

"You cream-coloured bastard!"

Raj was standing at the foot of Leonard and Sheldon's shared apartment, his eyes widened to an extent Penny wouldn't have thought physically possible. His face was a bunch of tense muscles and his nostrils were flaring.

"Leonard!" Raj yelled again. He banged on the wall with both of his fists, glaring at Sheldon. "Get out here, you coward!"

Penny was afraid to step outside of her apartment, and quickly scampered to within it's walls, as if there was some invisible line that if crossed would increase her chances of getting swung at. She remained looking on, blue eyes going so big she was sure she didn't look too different from Raj.

Sheldon let out a huff, managing to look startled and irritated at the same time. "Raj, seeing as Leonard has retreated to the safety of his room, would you mind ceasing in this pointless affront?"

Penny didn't blame Leonard for running away. Raj looked ready to murder Sheldon just to _get_ to Leonard.

"Alright, that's it," Raj said, his voice a little slurred with anger, "Sheldon, get out of my way."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Sheldon said.

"Why the hell not?" Raj said, and Penny could almost _see _the spittle flying from his mouth.

Sheldon sighed and shifted a little in his spot. "The Roommate Agreement states—"

"Damn the Roommate Agreement!"

Sheldon's eyes went big and Penny swallowed a giggle. "_Excuse _me, Rajesh, but the Roommate Agreement is a pivotal and—"

Raj let out a loud groan. "Sheldon, if you don't get out of my way, I will _move _you."

Penny bit down on her lip and walked outside of her apartment, her moves slow and cautious. She wasn't laughing anymore, and the hairs on her arms bristled in warning. "Raj?" she said.

He turned around, his face drawing in, his mouth clamping shut. He greeted her with a shy little wave and a squeak.

She frowned at him and crossed her arms. "Don't hurt Sheldon. He hasn't done anything."

Raj's face contorted in protest and his lips parted only to promptly shut.

She sighed. Her eyes flicked over Sheldon, and she nodded at him. "Sheldon, sweetie, let him in."

"But _Penny—_"

"No, Sheldon, they need to talk," her eyes flashed back to Raj and she glared at him. "Civilly. Like _grown _ups. No hitting, biting, or scratching. Got it?"

Penny knew she could be scary—but she hadn't expected Raj to nod in that fast, nervous fashion of his and give her another consensual squeak.

"Well, okay then. Raj, you talk to Leonard and sort this whole mess out and—"

Sheldon huffed at her, "Penny, I must interrupt to say—"

"No dice, Sheldon." She said with a shake of her blonde head. "Leonard and Raj need to talk it out. Or would you like your entire social life falling apart because of what happens here, now?"

"I—"

"You'd have to find new friends, Sheldon. Maybe a new roommate. Now tell me, what is the statistical probability of finding another acceptable candidate willing to _agree _to the Roommate Agreement?"

Sheldon paused for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly as he worked out the math.

His face scrunched and he walked back inside.

XXX

Four little knocks. It wasn't Sheldon.

Penny looked up from her computer and went for the door. "Oh. Hello, Leonard."

He gave her a small smile. "Hi, Penny."

It was only then she noticed it. "Oh God," she said, raising a hand to run her thumb against his cheek. His cheek, just under his eye, was discoloured, beginning to take on a purple hue. "What did he do? I told him not to touch you!"

"It's alright," he whispered to her, lifting his own hand and bringing it around hers, trapping it there. For a second. Then he let go and she was forced to bring it away, her fingers thrumming with the pulse of his touch, but also with the simultaneous _ache _of how much she missed it—even if it had only been there for a mere moment.

His eyes went for the floor, his face angled down, so she couldn't tell what was flashing across it. "I kind of deserved it, anyway."

"What?" she asked, momentarily disconnected. "Oh, right. The punch." She crossed her arms, frowning. "I'm so pissed at him. He said he wouldn't hurt you," she paused for a moment, eyes narrowing. "Well, he squeaked it, anyway."

Leonard let out a small laugh, his lips curling upward. "If it's any consolation, he missed the first few times. Eventually I just stood there and let him hit me."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I felt sorry for the guy—years of being bullied has honed my reflexes into something ninja-like," he grinned and did a karate-chop at the air, stopping inches short of her cheek. "He might not have been able to hit me for a while."

"You have no shame, do you, Leonard?"

"Oh, I have shame. Just not about that."

She laughed at him. "God. Yup, now I'm starting to see why he hit you."

Suddenly his eyes clouded over and his sneakers scuffed at the floor. "Well, that and I broke his sister's heart..."

She sighed and squeezed his shoulder. "Oh, Leonard, I'm sure you didn't. She's a big girl. Did Raj say that?"

Leonard's eyes flicked back to her. "No, he didn't." He stopped, breathing in. "He... hasn't talked to her. She's been in her room for the last three weeks."

"But—but _that's _not right," Penny said, flabbergasted. Priya was a hardened person, a kick-ass lawyer—as proved by the entire loophole Roommate Agreement incident—and had been rough on Penny a number of times, regardless of whether or not she was in the room. She just couldn't see her isolating herself all because of a breakup.

Which all led her to believe what had gone on between Leonard and Priya before she emerged into that hallway was more than it seemed. "She'd starve. I don't get it."

He shrugged. "Raj thinks she's sneaking out at night. Maybe out the window."

She bit down on her lip. "Really? That sounds so... un-Priya-ish."

His breath caught in his throat, like he was about to say something, but then decided against it. "Well, yeah—it is. It is. I just..."

He trailed off again, in the way he'd been doing more and more over the last three weeks. His eyes fixed on a worn spot on her carpet, looking like they were about to start screaming, they looked so lonely. She sighed, a small sigh.

She put a hand on his forearm and flashed him a smile, something she hoped achieved a glimmer of reassuring, but knew looked more maniacal than anything—but she sensed he was too lost in himself to notice.

"Leonard?" she said. "How would you like to come in for some tea?"

He blinked at her. "Tea?" he repeated. "Do you have coffee?"

She let her breath out, feeling the pressure against her heart cave as she saw his eyes scouring back for her, finally reconnecting to reality. "Leonard—this is _me _we're talking about. Of course I have coffee." Her face scrunched. "Unless I'm stealing it from you."

He smiled.


End file.
